Member of Polish military found dead on Mount Hood

Kinasiewicz's truck was parked at the Tilly Jane Trailhead in Hood River County.

GOVERNMENT CAMP, OR (KPTV) -

A 32-year-old Polish man climbing Mount Hood so he could photograph a Polish flag placed at the summit years ago was found dead near the summit Tuesday.

Officials were notified at 7:30 a.m. Monday that Sebastian Kinasiewicz intended to reach the summit of Mount Hood on Sunday but had not returned.

Kinasiewicz's roommate told sheriff's deputies he left about 8 a.m. Sunday. His route was not known, and he had limited climbing experience. He did have water, warm clothing and an ice axe, as well as crampons.

Deputies found Kinasiewicz's truck parked at the Tilly Jane Trailhead in Hood River County on Monday, and that led search and rescue crews to scour two common routes on Mount Hood that began at that point. They found no trace of Kinasiewicz.

The search was called off Monday night due to darkness, but officials resumed searching the north side and south side of the mountain Tuesday.

The Oregon Army National Guard out of Salem also sent a helicopter, and its crew spotted the body in a narrow canyon not far from the summit.

Hood River County deputies suspect Kinasiewicz made it to the summit before his death, and then fell somewhere around the summit. The mission is now a recovery effort, though ground crews have been recalled to the command post to discuss plans.

At this point, deputies said, it's too dangerous to recover the body by ground due to falling rocks in and around the canyon.

Kinasiewicz was in Oregon because he was attending training at Northwest-based Insitu, Inc., a company that makes drones.

"Our thoughts are with Sebastian's family at this difficult time," a company statement said.

An Insitu spokeswoman said earlier in the day that the company planned to help the sheriff's office any way it could. No drones were used in the search because the airspace is not approved for the use of unmanned aircraft.